CHAVEZ ALLY AND FOE NOMINATED AS USUN PERM REP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000779 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER FRC FT LAUDERDALE FOR CLAMBERT COPENHAGEN FOR DLAWTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ ALLY AND FOE NOMINATED AS USUN PERM REP Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT R. DOWNES FOR 1.4 (D) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On March 21, President Chavez nominated Francisco Arias Cardenas as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Arias was a comrade-in-arms of Chavez during the failed 1992 military coup against then President Carlos Andres Perez. Arias later split ways with Chavez accusing him of allowing corruption and cronyism into his government. In 2000, he ran against Chavez in the presidential elections, but many in the opposition never really believed he had ever left the Chavez camp. Up until late 2004, Arias was a frequent interlocutor with the Embassy. The Embassy recently arranged a meeting with Arias, but it was cancelled shortly thereafter. Arias' affable personality and moderate image will likely be an asset to the BRV's attempts to gain favor with the international community and secure a seat on the UN Security Council. End Summary. -------------- On Again, Off Again Relationship -------------- ¶2. (C) On March 21, President Chavez nominated Francisco Arias Cardenas as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Arias was a comrade-in-arms of Chavez during the failed 1992 military coup against then President Carlos Andres Perez. Arias later split ways with Chavez and founded the opposition party Union. He served two terms as the governor of the state of Zulia and eventually ran against Chavez in the 2000 presidential elections. ¶3. (U) The nomination of Arias was a surprise to some as he has been called a traitor by Chavez for his roll as a leader in the opposition and 2004 recall referendum. In late 2004, however, Arias and Chavez rekindled their relationship (many in the opposition believe that he never left the Chavez camp at all). Since 2004, Arias, while not in an official government post, has attended many of Chavez's public events where he has been greeted warmly and publicly by the president. During a speech in November 2005, Chavez said of Arias, "what matters is what we did together...and what we still can do together." In a March 23 press interview, Arias said he never betrayed Chavez, but that the two simply had political differences. -------------- Frequent Embassy Contact -------------- ¶4. (C) Arias was a frequent interlocutor with the Embassy between 2000 and 2004 and he seemed affable and sincere in his desires to improve governance in Venezuela. His training in the seminary seems to have shaped his political views, as he has stated that he seeks "to apply the social doctrine of the Church" to his decision-making. Embassy communication with him fell off at the end of 2004, when he began to once again get closer to Chavez. The last meeting on record was with Ambassador Brownfield shortly after his arrival to post in October 2004. In recent weeks, the Embassy arranged a meeting with Arias, but it was abruptly cancelled shortly thereafter. -------------- Confirmation Hearings in the BRV? CARACAS 00000779 002 OF 003 -------------- ¶5. (U) In a rare occurrence, the all-Chavista National Assembly (AN) held a public debate on the nomination of Arias. AN Deputy Luis Tascon announced that he would withhold his vote because Arias was a traitor to the revolution. MVR deputy William Querales voiced his support of the nomination by reminding the AN that the apostle Paul was an enemy of early Christians only to become a founder of the Catholic church. After approximately an hour of debate, Arias was confirmed unanimously with only Tascon abstaining. (Comment: All 167 deputies in the Assembly are members of the government parties.) -------------- Biographic Info -------------- ¶6. (C) Early in life, Arias reportedly contemplated becoming a priest and attended Catholic seminary for eight years. He later left the seminary to earn a political science degree from the University of the Andes and then entered the Venezuelan Military Academy. It was here he met Chavez and the two graduated from the Academy together in ¶1975. Later the two established the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement-200, a leftist political organization that decried the corruption of Venezuela's two major parties Accion Democratica (AD) and the Social Democratic Party (COPEI). ¶7. (C) A rising star in the military despite his radical leanings, Arias eventually became the commander of the 51st Artillery Battalion ) Venezuela's only rocket artillery unit in the state of Zulia. It was during this command that he and Chavez launched a coup against the administration of Carlos Andres Perez in 1992. During the coup, Arias seized control of Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia, and held it for seven hours before Chavez's uprising in Caracas failed. In fact, he surrendered only after Chavez surrendered in Caracas on behalf of all the coup supporters. After the failure of the coup, Arias and Chavez were jailed until Rafael Caldera pardoned them in 1994. It was during this period that the two reportedly began to differ ideologically. ¶8. (C) In 1995, Arias ran and won the Zulia gubernatorial race as a political independent. In 1998, he ran for another term as governor, but this time under President Chavez's party, the Movimienta Quinta Republica (MVR). While in Chavez's party he apparently continued to be disillusioned with the corruption and cronyism that existed in the government. He eventually founded his own party, Union, and challenged Chavez for the presidency in 2000. Arias lost the election with 38% of the vote, compared to 60% for Chavez. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) We cannot be sure what Arias' motivation is for his frequent apparent changes in loyalty. Some in the opposition claim that he has always been loyal to Chavez, even when running against him, while others believe he was genuinely opposed to the administration. It may be that his introspective nature has made him change his outlook periodically. Nonetheless, the nomination of Arias seems to be a clear indication by the BRV that it is taking its bid for a UN Security Council seat very seriously. Arias' affable personality along with his image as a moderate (compared to Chavez) should be an asset as the BRV tries to CARACAS 00000779 003 OF 003 change its image as an instigator within the international community. BROWNFIELD